


Our Own Kindness

by J_J_Janson



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 00:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15183146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_J_Janson/pseuds/J_J_Janson
Summary: To the humble priestess Natasha, L'Arachel seems to be proud and arrogant. However, she'll not only learn that there's a bit more to L'Arachel than she expected, she may even end up falling in love.





	Our Own Kindness

Natasha wasn’t quite sure what to make of Princess L’Arachel of Rausten. The green-haired, spirited princess was wandering around the medical tent with a big grin, praising injured soldiers for their service. “You are all grand heroes, every one of you, who have served well in the fight against the darkest of evils. Rest now, and bask in the beauty of the great Princess L’Arachel of Rausten!” 

Many of the injured soldiers didn’t even seem to know she was there, trapped in their own little world by either the pain of their injuries or the horrors they had seen on the battlefield. A few watched L’Arachel’s theatrics and smiled.

Natasha did not boast as L’Arachel did, instead working on quietly caring for the most injured patients. A man who had suffered grievous burns from a fire mage needed medication rubbed on his burns. A woman who’d lost part of her hand in a sword fight needed help eating her meal. Another woman who had watched her friend bleed to death from a spear wound needed comfort, a patient hand on her shoulder as she cried her eyes out. 

Natasha could not help resenting the princess. She herself had been raised to be patient and humble. L’Arachel’s theatrics seemed like a distraction born from a huge ego. 

When two more healers came in to relieve Natasha and L’Arachel of their shift, Natasha took L’Arachel aside after they left the tent. “If I may,” she said, “Please keep the theatrics to a minimum. We should focus on the care of our patients, not on inflating our own egos.” 

L’Arachel shook her head. “Theatrics? I was merely praising the efforts of brave men and women.”

It seemed L’Arachel had no awareness of her own unbecoming arrogance. If there was nothing Natasha could do to get her to step into line, she would simply leave without another word.

***

Natasha was serving on the front lines of the battlefield as a medic. She carefully dragged a young man behind an outcropping of rocks so that he would be out of the line of enemy fire. He had an arrow in his belly, but it seemed to have missed his vitals. All Natasha could do for him in the moment was to bind his wound so the arrow did not fall out, so it would not exacerbate the bleeding, and then used her staff to shine a light on the wound. After a moment, the pain faded, and he was able to lay down more comfortably. There was little she could do for the damage in the moment, but she could make sure he didn’t suffer while he waited for the end of the battle. 

Peeking her head over the outcropping, Natasha got a look at the battle. The front line had been pushed back, with a group of soldiers now trapped behind enemy lines after failing to retreat on time. There were about a dozen of them, and the remaining front line forces could not find an opening in the enemy’s lines to reinforce them. The soldiers trapped behind enemy lines were surrounded, and fighting for their lives, having circled up to protect their wounded.

And there, in the middle of the circle, was Princess L’Arachel. She wordlessly bandaged a woman who had suffered a wound to the face, and turning away as soon as she was done so she could use her healing staff on a woman who seemed to have lost an arm.

As Natasha turned back to the front lines, it seemed like progress was finally being made, like they were finally going to be able to reinforce their trapped allies.

But as she turned back to the encircled force, she saw two men cut down by an axeman, who charged into the middle of the encirclement towards the wounded.

None of the soldiers who remained standing could turn away from the fight in front of them. As the wounded soldiers braced themselves for their end, L’Arachel stood and charged.

The axeman was taken aback, and wasn’t able to react before L’Arachel struck him across the face with her staff. Natasha could hear the snap of wood even from the distance away she was, and the axeman dropped. 

The encircled soldiers let out a cheer, and rallied, fending off the next wave of attackers and closing ranks once again. 

As that was happening, Natasha saw that the front line had almost reached the encircled forces. She ran out to stand behind that line, so that she could jump in and help the wounded as soon as possible. Not only were there several men and women on the ground in the middle, with L’Arachel struggling to care for them with her staff broken, but the standing soldiers seemed to be on their last legs. They had all suffered various wounds and were likely kept going by adrenaline alone. 

As soon as the way was clear and the front line of soldiers closed around the beleaguered force, Natasha tossed her spare staff to L’Arachel and got to work caring for the most grievously wounded of the soldiers.

***

After the battle, with all of the wounded taken care of, Natasha followed L’Arachel as she walked back to her private tent. “Princess L’Arachel, if I may have a moment?”

The princess turned, a grin on her face. “And how may I help you, Natasha?”

“I owe you an apology. I believed you to be arrogant. But upon seeing you on the battlefield, I believe your confidence is well earned. And, well, I heard from one of the Rausten soldiers about your parents.” Natasha was overwhelmed by guilt. “I learned that you have no memories of them, and that you act nobly in their memory. To serve the people as they did. I simply believed you to be an arrogant princess, and was critical of you for being such. I was wrong to see you in that light. I am sorry.”

“Now now dear,” L’Arachel said. “I would never wish to sully a face as pretty as yours with a frown.” With that, L’Arachel gave Natasha a quick peck on the cheek, turned, and left.

And Natasha was left standing there trying not to blush and failing.

***

Another shift on duty in the medical tent came and went, and as Natasha left L’Arachel came up to her. “My lovely dear, seeing your faces makes the exhaustion melt from my own lovely visage.” She gave Natasha a small bow.

But Natasha wasn’t quite sure what L’Arachel was saying. “Thank you?”

“Your beauty shines as bright as mine, a radiant warmth the likes of which I never believed would appear. I am not, as I believed, a once in a lifetime beauty. Rather, I am a twice in a lifetime beauty.”

Natasha tried to hide her face. “Oh no, I’m nothing like that. A simple priestess like me could never look as pretty as a princess like you.”

“Nonsense! I have a keen eye for beauty. Seeing my own beauty so frequently in the mirror makes me a true expert in beauty, and it is what I see when I look upon you. A gentle, humble soul. A pretty face. A figure that is simply divine. And an unsurpassed kindness, one built on a sincere desire to better the world. You are truly worthy of leading Rausten beside me.”

Natasha, bright red from the praise, took a moment to process all of that. “Leading Rausten, princess. Do you mean as your advisor? I do not believe I am worthy of such a role.”

“My dear, you truly do not see half the value in yourself that I see in you. I do not wish you to be a simple advisor, I have deemed you fit to be my bride!”

That stopped Natasha in her tracks. “Your bride? But just recently I believed you to be an arrogant, self-obsessed-”

“Why should I care how long it took you to recognize my greatness?”

“I know nothing about running a country, I couldn’t possibly be suitable-”

“I have been raised from birth to assume my country’s throne and lead its people. And I am confident that someone kind such as yourself, who will love my people dearly, is more suitable than any bureaucrat.”

Natasha didn’t know what to say. But L’Arachel was still looking at her expectantly, waiting for her response. “Are you sure you love me?”

“I have a great deal of love in my heart. If you would have me, I would be humbled if you would give romance a chance. If you are still unhappy, I will cease hounding you. But if your insecurity blooms into confidence, in me and in yourself, then I would be honored to take you as my bride.”

So L’Arachel wanted to try dating for a while, to see if they’d work out? It seemed like such a simple, commonplace desire from someone raised as a princess and with an unmatched ego. 

But Natasha liked simple and commonplace. “I do not know what our future holds, but I will treasure this first step I take with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Is it really Fire Emblem if characters aren't proposing to each other after, like, three conversations?


End file.
